ECP arrest warrants for Imran and others have been suspended by the LHC.
Issues orders to the election watchdog to continue contempt proceedings and threaten to take action against Fawad if he continues to undermine the judiciary.
RAWALPINDI: The Lahore High Court (LHC) suspended the arrest warrants for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, Secretary General Asad Umar, and Senior Vice-President Fawad Chaudhry issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for skipping contempt proceedings.
For failing to appear before the commission in contempt proceedings, the election watchdog had issued arrest warrants for the PTI leaders last week that might be released on bond.
The ECP denied the requests for absence waivers, and all three parties were required to post bonds totaling Rs50,000 apiece. The PTI, however, has petitioned the court to overturn the arrest orders.
On Monday, the case was heard by Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan at the LHC’s Rawalpindi bench.
Imran Khan and Fawad Chaudhry were represented in court by attorney Faisal Chaudhry.
The PTI attorney argued during the hearing that as the ECP was not a constitutional court, it had no authority to issue arrest warrants. He assured the court and stated that his clients had been and will continue to appear before the ECP during its proceedings.
The arrest orders for Imran and Fawad Chaudhry in the ECP contempt case were subsequently suspended by the court.
The judge did permit the ECP to pursue its contempt case against the PTI leaders, though.
The judge stated at the hearing that “PTI seeks redress from the judiciary yet targets them in the media.”
It stated that criticising the judiciary in the media constituted contempt of court and issued a warning that contempt of court proceedings would be initiated if Fawad Chaudhry continued to criticise the courts in the media.
Justice Khan advised the PTI leader’s attorney that although the court was providing him with relief this time, his client should not place the blame for the situation on the courts.
Justice Khan said, “Enough is enough, the court will no longer exercise restraint.”
It should be noted that, following the ECP’s ruling last week, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry declared he will appeal the warrants in the high court and accuse the ECP of contempt.
Fawad stated that “ECP’s action to issue arrest warrants is in violation of the high court’s ruling.” He said that the verdict was revealed today (January 16), even though the case was supposed to be heard on January 17.
The PTI leader claimed that the ECP’s judgement was “biassed.”
The PTI president and the other two senior party leaders had been called in for a hearing by the electoral watchdog as part of ongoing contempt proceedings against them.
Imran and the leaders of his party, Asad Umar and Fawad Chaudhry, were the targets of the ECP’s contempt proceedings because they frequently made statements critical of the electoral body and its chief election commissioner.
The PTI has filed a petition with the Supreme Court challenging the ECP, claiming that Article 204 only granted contempt of court authority to the higher courts and that the commission was not a court.
The highest court had, however, given the ECP permission to pursue the contempt proceedings against the former premier and his fellow party officials in December of last year.
